What I Learned on Vacation

We are home. I am so glad we took this trip. Not only did we have an absolutely wonderful time, it became a learning experience for me. This is what I learned:

1) Our children are very resilient. Two weeks, in tight quarters, with 5 cousins, with lots of running around, and very little sleep and we did not have a single major episode or melt down. They were too busy having the time of their lives.

2) Entertaining 11 children does not have to cost a dime, other than the massive amounts of food. Every last activity we did was free. We hiked, we swam, we visited, we saw the sights, we ate, we celebrated, and we played together as one big family.

3) You really can watch too much Spongebob Squarepants.

4) I can survive on "brewed" coffee and non-dairy creamer. Who knew?

5) A three hour time difference really messes you up, seriously. Even after two weeks I was having a terrible time sleeping past 5 am and ended up getting, on average, about 5 hours of decent sleep a night--do not tell Wingnut! It took me 18 years to convince him I really do need at least 8 hours every night.

6) I can play a pretty mean game of "Family Football". I surprised my siblings and all my children with my ability to catch the ball and take out my much more athletically gifted baby sister.

7) I love my Mac. Working with a Windows machine for two weeks was so agonizingly painful. I'd rather stick a dagger in my eye than use a PC ever again.

8) My hometown is really breath-takingly beautiful in the summertime. I so enjoyed the mountains, farmland, flowers, and foliage. I'll tell you though, flying into Baltimore on Wednesday, I was taken aback by the beauty Maryland has to offer as well. It is so lush and green and clean. Lovely.

9) My family is really, really, really loud, especially when we are having fun.

10) My family is incredibly awesome. I knew that before this trip, but it cannot be said enough. I love each and every one of them and love their unique personalities. This was such a fantastic trip home. I feel so very blessed.

More photos to post in coming days, once I have them uploaded on my lovely Mac.